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We are now back at home after 3 weeks in Cuenca – 3 of the hottest weeks we can remember in nearly 20 years! We were drenched in sweat most of the day & going to “bed” was like getting into a sauna every night! The temperature in the flat never dropped below 30C the whole time we were there. This is due in part to the oxygenating machine which functions 24/7 & produces a lot of heat. Even during the winter (we were there in November & February) the thermometer showed 24C! (Cuenca is very, very cold in the winter).

We have noticed a great deterioration in my mother-in-law’s heath since we last saw her in February this year. Like our 2 previous trips to Cuenca, to visit my wife’s mother, we fully expected to bury her before coming home again, but against all odds it seems, she continues to live! Yet we have noticed a marked decline in both her physical & her mental health. We fully expect our next trip back will be to attend her funeral. We can’t afford to visit her again before the New Year, her 92nd birthday in at the beginning of January, if she still manages to stay alive until then we will probably go & see her again.

Our youngest son looked after my plants while we were away in Cuenca but he has no experience of growing plants though he is nearly 40 years old. He spent the grater part of 35 years in Spain, in Cuenca, till he had to give up the small bar he tried to run for 2 years & move here with his wife & 2 year old daughter(now 3!). He has never grown more than a climbing plant in his living room (Pothos???) which he somehow managed to keep alive for many years. Even though he came round quite often to attend to our two budgies & water my plants he wasn’t able to stop some of them dying – some from overwatering, in the kitchen, & some from lack of water on the balcony.

The 3 hanging basket along the front of the balcony each had a Fuchsia planted in it & Lobelias around the sides the Fuchsias all appear to be dead & the Lobelia are in quite a bad state. Yet all my tomato plants & Lilies have come through OK (maybe because they were in big pots in the shade) I also have another 3 or 4 hanging baskets planted up further in the balcony where they get more shade & these are perfectly OK!

I have 13 pots of Begonias on the balcony railings in aluminium hoops I bought in Cuenca well over 20 years ago. The majority of them have fared badly in the very strong hot sunshine during the 2nd week of July. Lots of the leaves have been badly sunburnt & many flowers just opening were burnt up!

I’ve soaked everything a couple of times since returning but, unfortunately, there is nothing else I can do for the time being, I’ll just have to let nature take its course & hope for the best.

23 Jul, 2016
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Linda235

Glad to see you are back Balcony.......I bet you and your wife are enjoying getting out and going to bed before three in the morning. Elderly parents are such a worry.
Sorry to hear some of your plants have suffered. My neighbour looked after my plants last year when we were on holiday and lots of them suffered due to a surprise heat wave. They have recovered this year but they looked pretty bad last year.

24 Jul, 2016

Steragram

Glad to hear you are home again Balcony. Pity about the plants but it was probably not a big surprise. Although its sad it weighs little against the kindness and consideration you've shown to your wife and her mother. Its nice to have you back.

24 Jul, 2016

Paulspatch

Oh dear.....no one ever waters your plants like yourself, do they??
When our youngest son live with us but stopped coming away with us he used to do it and made quite a good job but still some pants would be leggy and crispy. But others who done it for me in the past(even my late mum's husband who is reasonably kean and grows a bit himself ) never understood how much water container plants need.
Shame about your mum in law but, it comes to us all doesn't it? Went through it with my mum (a bit younger...she was 87) end last year.She was in hospital for 5 weeks and finally gave up on New Year's Day. It's awful when they deteriorate mentally and seem to become a different person.

24 Jul, 2016

Balcony

Thank you all for your comments & I appreciate your kindness.

It's most distressing when you see your a parent become as depend as a little child & when they start to lose their mind it's even worse. I found myself at times, quite unconsciously, treating her as if that was what she was.

Having been parents perhaps we treat her differently to my sister-in-law who was constantly trying to reason with her, as she has never been married or had any children. It is impossible to reason with her in her present state & this causes my sister-in-law to become very frustrated & impatient with her mother.

As for my plants well my son did the best he could under the circumstances but he couldn't spend much time here & looking after the birds, changing their water & putting out fresh seed as well as cleaning the cage takes some time - it also takes a fair while to water the plants, there are so many! The hanging baskets can be very difficult to water if they start to get dry. I have developed the technique of watering there several times in the space of an hour if they have become too dry. I start at one end of the balcony & give each basket a little water then proceed to the next till I have watered all 9 of them - then I turn round & start from the first one again & repeat as before. I sometimes have to do this operation 3 or 4 times till I'm satisfied they are completely soaked all the way through! I couldn't expect my son to do that. I cut down the Fuchsias in the centre of each basket & as I did so I looked at the stems I'd cut back & found most of them were still alive in the centre. So I'm hoping they will regenerate from the base in a few weeks time. The Lobelias around the edges of the baskets have mixed fortunes - a few have died completely while others show a lot of live growth still while others have only a little live growth still. Except those that have completely died out I expect them all to recover in the next few weeks.

24 Jul, 2016

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